Feds Want To Fix 'Monty Python' Zip Code Overload In Eastern CT Town

SCOTLAND, CT — Right now, the Holy Grail for one small eastern Connecticut town is to fix a crazy Zip Code situation and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney said there is a solution on the horizon.

Ahead of a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives, Courtney on Monday (CT-02) urged his colleagues to support H.R. 8753, which includes his Courtney’s provision to assign just one zip-code to the town of Scotland.

The House is scheduled to consider the bill early this week.

Scotland has 600-plus residencies (and 1,576 residents as of the 2024 census), but six zip-codes have led to misplaced packages, difficulty requesting mail-in ballots, and uncertainty about where to send students to school, Courtney said. In March, he and U.S, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) joined forces to introduce bicameral legislation (H.R. 7800 and S. 4052) to direct the United States Postal Service to assign Scotland a single zip code. On Nov. 21, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform approved the House bill, 40-0, as part of a larger package (H.R. 8753), sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), to address zip-code issues for Americans in 45 towns nationwide.

"Delivery of social security notices, checks, Medicare information, prescription medication, notices from banks, employers, and absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications are all disrupted day in and day out. Town leaders and my office have tried, along with Senator Chris Murphy, to get this ridiculous, almost Monty Python-esque absurdity resolved for many years with the Postal Service to no avail. This week's action by the House will mandate that USPS address this problem once and for all by designating a single unique zip code for these 45 small towns," Courtney said on the House Floor Monday.

He continued, "I urge my colleagues to support this measure, send it to the Senate for swift passage, and to the President's desk. The hardworking, taxpaying citizens of these towns deserve to get the same level of postal service as every other community."

Here is the transcript of Courtney's Monday speech on the House floor:

"Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of a bill that the House will be voting on this week, H.R. 8753, which directs the U.S. Postal Service to designate a single unique zip code for certain communities. H.R. 8753 will provide long overdue relief to 45 mostly small towns in 13 states from Connecticut to California by fixing a chaotic situation where the resident zip codes are hopelessly carved up in a hodgepodge that results in lost mail, delayed mail, and wrong deliveries. One of the towns included in HR 8753's list is the small town of Scotland, Connecticut, located in the heart of Eastern Connecticut, which I have the great privilege to represent. Scotland is the quintessential historic New England small town with a population of 1,576 people.

"It may be small, but its history is rich. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Huntington, was born in his family's home located in Scotland, and today it is a significant part of the Rochambeau National History Trail, which was the route that the American Continental Army, under the leadership of George Washington and John Baptiste Rochambeau, marched in 1781 from Newport, Rhode Island to Yorktown, Virginia, where the Battle of Yorktown took place and the small army of colonists defeated the greatest military power of the British Empire.

"Today in 2024, it is a town that the U.S. Postal Service has assigned (six) — that's right, (six) — zip codes that cause endless aggravation and harm to the town's residents. Delivery of social security notices, checks, Medicare information, prescription medication, notices from banks, employers, and absentee ballots and absentee ballot applications are all disrupted day in and day out. Town leaders in my office have tried, along with Senator Chris Murphy, to get this ridiculous, almost Monty Python-esque absurdity resolved for many years with the Postal Service to no avail. This week's action by the House will mandate that USPS address this problem once and for all by designating a single unique zip code for these 45 small towns. Mr. Speaker, this vote has been a long time in coming. I want to recognize the town's first selectman, Mr. Dana Barrows and his predecessor, Mr. Gary Greenberg, who have diligently raised this issue along with the town postmasters with the postal service for many years, laying out the real life consequences of fragmenting this small community and essentially disconnecting it to the vital service that the residents require. This week, the House can help Scotland as well as 44 other similarly situated towns by passing 8753.

"The bill was reported out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee unanimously and has strong bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues to support this measure, send it to the Senate for swift passage and to the President's desk. The hardworking, taxpaying citizens of these towns deserve to get the same level of postal service as every other community."